Court date postponed for suspected cat killer

The scheduled court date of a suspect apprehended for the death of at least one cat on the south side of the city of Little Falls was postponed until further notice, according to city court officials.

Dana C. Silano

The scheduled court date of a suspect apprehended for the death of at least one cat on the south side of the city of Little Falls was postponed until further notice, according to city court officials.

Tuesday’s appearance was for 22-year-old Mark Albert Beacraft of Little Falls, who was arrested on October 23 after an investigating police officer received an anonymous tip that the man had been involved in the torture and death of a feline.

Because of the nature of Beacraft’s reasoning for being unable to attend court, the date has not yet been rescheduled.

When Officer Michael Simonelli arrived at the scene of the incident, he found a lot of blood on the floor of the bandstand, according to police reports. The animal’s discarded body was found in the area of the canal. An interview conducted by Simonelli led police to the admittance by the man that he had in fact killed the cat a torturous way.

Members of Community Animal Programs (C.A.P.) and Helping Animals Live Organization (H.A.L.O.) were outside city hall Tuesday morning after being made aware that the date had been postponed. They said they planned to continue to attend each court date until the suspect’s sentencing and anyone else’s linked to the case, if applicable.

Larry Ortlieb of C.A.P. said that he had brought with him a prepared statement to submit to the court to ask that it relinquish any pets from Beacraft’s residence.

“We adopted a cat to him in July,” he said. “People tell me that he thinks the world of it.”

However, Ortlieb said he hopes to get the orange and white tiger-striped cat back from Beacraft’s home.

Assistant Chief Michael Masi said that if any animals are in the home, Beacraft and any other occupants of the residence still have rights, and without any case of the animals being abused, they cannot be removed at this time.

Because of pending criminal action, the assistant chief could not disclose why Beacraft said he hurt the animal.

The suspect is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, an unclassified felony under the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law. Additional charges are pending and statements relevant to the case have been taken.

Missing cat reports have been received within the city over the past month, and at least one other individual is being looked at about the possibility that they shot some of the cats with a BB gun.

Because of the status of the case, that person’s name will not be released at this time.